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In-house communication: setting up the Carrefour Charter
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For in-house communication and event planning, Quatre Vents is constantly developing new fields for expression in order to find the right "tone". The most recent example would be the IS department convention organised for Carrefour Group.
"Ladies and gentlemen, please find your handheld survey devices for the question of the day. You have four choices...", Nicolas Angel tells the audience. A few minutes later, two artists interrupt the quiz: one dancing on a balloon to the saxophone music of the other. Although at first glance this all appears to be pure fun, it is neither a game show with millions up for grabs, nor a circus number. Actually, it is the IS department convention. This annual meeting gathers some 150 managers to discuss key issues for Carrefour group, the world's second largest big-box chain.
Strategic discourses separated by entertainment breaks
"This year, we wanted to get middle management involved in the major strategic orientations, but mainly to communicate a sensitive message concerning operational requirements," explains Paul Pochon, IS Director at Carrefour France. To this end, Quatre Vents recommended using various media to convey this message, such as videotaped experiences, artistic interludes, question and answer session, and direct surveys. A wide variety is chosen on purpose to pace the day and leave an impression. In a larger sense, Quatre Vents entirely managed the event along with Carrefour's in-house communication team from planning the delivery to preparing the publishing guidelines and tools, including in-depth work on presentation content. However, take care not to leave preparation and planning to the day of the event itself. The success of an operation of this type often hinges on preparatory communication and post-event follow-up.
As Carrefour's in-house communication manager, Isabelle Grange, points out: "
During preparation, the preliminary publicity was prepared during the very first days of a given action, which was built in under one month.We developed a thorough Intranet specifically for the convention, including written summaries and experiences. The highlight was the on-line streamed video tracking the day." Encouraged by the success of this event, the Carrefour IS department is now examining ways to generalise electronic communication using this new Intranet in the weeks to come. To be continued.
